St Andrew's Day
30 November
The feast of Andrew the Apostle, the fisherman who brought his brother Peter to Jesus; Scotland's national day.
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Christian Holidays
The feasts and seasons of the Christian year, from Advent to Christ the King: where each holiday came from, the saints behind it, the customs that grew up around it, and how Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions keep it.
Arranged in the order of the church year as most Western churches keep it. The Eastern Orthodox church year begins on 1 September, and Orthodox churches that follow the Julian calendar keep fixed feasts thirteen days later than the civil calendar. Facts were checked against the reference articles listed on each page.
Advent
In Western churches the church year begins with Advent, four weeks of waiting and preparation before Christmas.
Advent
Begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas (between 27 November and 3 December) and ends on Christmas Eve
A season of waiting and preparation before Christmas, and the start of the church year in the West.
St Nicholas Day
6 December (or its eve, 5 December); 19 December in Eastern churches that use the old Julian calendar
The feast of the generous bishop of Myra whose gift-giving legends grew into Santa Claus.
St Lucy's Day
13 December
A festival of light in the dark of December, honouring Lucy of Syracuse.
Christmastide
Christmas begins a festive season that traditionally lasts twelve days, to Twelfth Night.
Christmas
25 December; 7 January for Eastern churches that keep the Julian calendar
The feast of the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem.
St Stephen's Day
26 December in the West; 27 December in the East
The day after Christmas, remembering Stephen, the first Christian martyr.
The Twelve Days of Christmas
25 December to 5 January (Twelfth Night)
The festive season from Christmas to the eve of Epiphany.
Epiphany and after
From Epiphany on 6 January through the weeks before Lent.
Epiphany
6 January (in some countries the Sunday after 1 January); 19 January in Eastern churches that keep the Julian calendar
Three Kings' Day: the visit of the Magi, and in the East the baptism of Jesus.
Candlemas
2 February
The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, forty days after Christmas, when candles are blessed.
St Valentine's Day
14 February in the West; 6 July in Eastern Orthodoxy
The feast of a third-century Roman martyr that became a day for love and friendship.
Lent
About six weeks of prayer, fasting and giving before Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday in the West.
Shrove Tuesday
The day before Ash Wednesday (a movable date set by Easter)
Pancake Day or Mardi Gras: the last day before Lent.
Ash Wednesday
The Wednesday that begins Lent (a movable date set by Easter)
The first day of Lent, when many Christians receive a cross of ashes on the forehead.
Lent
From Ash Wednesday to Easter, about six weeks
Forty days of prayer, fasting and giving to prepare for Easter.
St Patrick's Day
17 March
The feast of Patrick, the fifth-century missionary and patron saint of Ireland.
St Joseph's Day
19 March
The feast of Joseph, husband of Mary and the carpenter who raised Jesus.
The Annunciation
25 March, nine months before Christmas
The angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she would be the mother of Jesus.
Holy Week
The last week before Easter, from Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday.
Palm Sunday
The Sunday before Easter
Jesus's entry into Jerusalem, welcomed by crowds waving palm branches; the first day of Holy Week.
Maundy Thursday
The Thursday before Easter
The Last Supper and the washing of the disciples' feet.
Good Friday
The Friday before Easter
The most solemn day of the Christian year, remembering the crucifixion of Jesus.
Holy Saturday
The day before Easter
A quiet day of waiting, ending with the Easter Vigil.
Eastertide
Easter begins a seven-week season that ends at Pentecost.
Easter
A Sunday between 22 March and 25 April (Western churches), set by the moon; Orthodox Easter is often later
The feast of the resurrection of Jesus, the high point of the Christian year.
How the date of Easter is set
The first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox
Why Easter moves every year, and why Eastern and Western churches often celebrate on different Sundays.
St George's Day
23 April (moved to a later day when it falls between Palm Sunday and the Sunday after Easter)
The feast of the soldier-martyr of the dragon legend, patron saint of England and many other places.
Ascension Day
The Thursday forty days after Easter (moved to the following Sunday in some places)
Forty days after Easter, remembering Jesus being taken up into heaven.
Pentecost
The seventh Sunday after Easter (the fiftieth day, counting Easter)
The coming of the Holy Spirit to the apostles, often called the birthday of the Church.
After Pentecost
The long season after Pentecost, often called Ordinary Time, with many saints’ days, ending with Christ the King before Advent begins again.
Trinity Sunday
The first Sunday after Pentecost (in Western churches)
A feast of the Christian belief in one God in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Corpus Christi
The Thursday after Trinity Sunday (often moved to the following Sunday)
A feast of the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, marked by outdoor processions.
Nativity of St John the Baptist
24 June, six months before Christmas
The birthday of John the Baptist, the forerunner who prepared the way for Jesus.
Sts Peter and Paul
29 June
A joint feast of the two great apostles, both martyred in Rome.
Michaelmas
29 September in the West; 8 November in Eastern churches
The feast of Saint Michael and all angels, at the end of the harvest.
All Hallows' Eve
31 October
The evening before All Saints' Day, the origin of the name Halloween.
Reformation Day
31 October
A Protestant holiday remembering the start of the Reformation in 1517.
All Saints' Day
1 November in the West; the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern churches
A feast honouring all the saints, known and unknown.
All Souls' Day
2 November
A day of prayer and remembrance for all who have died.
St Martin's Day (Martinmas)
11 November
The feast of the soldier who shared his cloak with a beggar, with lanterns and roast goose.
Christ the King
The last Sunday before Advent
The last Sunday of the church year, celebrating Christ as king.